4-YEAR UG Professional Program
Contemporary Art Practice
Program Overview
The Contemporary Art Practices program fosters observation of the world we live in. It provides a critical space for an interdisciplinary curriculum that balances tradition with experimentation, combines theory and practice, connects art and design practices with the individual self and the important issues of our contemporary society.
The program draws deeply from rich artistic traditions, craft histories, and social complexities and simultaneously engages with global conversations around ecology, technology, and identity. The curriculum does not confine to a single medium, style or view, instead it facilitates both skill building and conceptual rigor.
Designed to support experimentation, collaboration and reflection within the individual practice as well as in dialogue with communities and public spaces, this course prepares for a lifetime of adaptive and thoughtful creative practice that generates new perspectives in the world.
LEVEL
Undergraduate Degree
AWARD
Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A)
DURATION
4 Years / Full-time
Last Day to Apply
15 March 2027
Vision
Contemporary Art Practice is founded on the conviction that creative curiosity is a universal human capacity and when nurtured, it transforms the world. This course aims to cultivate creative agency in its practitioners through interdisciplinary and inquiry-driven pedagogy.
The curriculum creates a space to explore, experiment and build a sustained engagement with a wide range of materials and ideas in order to discover one’s voice. Its design facilitates skill-building across traditional forms like drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, textiles, film, sound and performance while also giving exposure to the intersection of art and science, digital computing and coding. The course nurtures imagination and intuition as also engages with knowledge systems that may offer alternative ways of making, thinking and being in the world. It integrates public art, critical thinking and community interaction so that art practice moves beyond solitary pursuit, and becomes a critical, collaborative and social act of world-making.
Each new medium or skill that a student encounters is treated as a lens that sharpens the others. A student who learns to work with textiles may develop a new sensitivity to texture that encourages their photography; a student who experiments with coding may discover new possibilities for sculpture or performance. This pedagogical approach is informed by contexts that prompt the students to critically interrogate histories, materialities, and dense socio-cultural settings. Through the course the students deliberately harness multiple perspectives, contexts and mediums.
Our graduates branch into diverse fields, like fine arts, film, technology, education, curation, community organising and social innovation. They develop the ability to think rigorously, collaborate generously and communicate their ideas with conviction. This produces not just as an artist but a critical citizen who has the ability to think across boundaries and adapt to unfamiliar challenges.
Course Structure
The curriculum comprises of different ways of learning as follows:
- Foundation introduces students to basic principles and tools of Art, Design and Technology as methods, tools and processes.
- Disciplinary Studios are learning spaces where students develop core disciplinary capabilities, while navigating a trans-disciplinary environment
- General Studies is a common and compulsory programme of study that integrates Humanities, Sciences, Maths, business and finance. Development and Policy Studies and also offers Languages (Spanish, French and German)
- Interim is an immersive introduction to practice in new and emerging areas of art and design and environmental exposure
- Electives are of three kinds – this program allows students to expand their skills, develop the interests as well as provide opportunities for travel exchange
- Internship/Apprenticeship is compulsory work experience done over the summer-break between the 6th and 7th semester
- Project based learning involves the application and synthesis of capabilities acquired. Two projects, pre-thesis and thesis, is culmination of the 4-year undergraduate program, which allows for demonstration of an integration of values, positions, capabilities and practice.
For More information, please contact Professor Anil Kumar at anilkumar.ha@manipal.edu
Capabilities
Upon successful completion of this course, graduates will have developed the following capabilities:
- Understanding a variety of media and using them effectively.
- Understanding history, theory, and diverse contexts to base work upon in contemporary times
- Develop skills in visual, sonic and spatial languages.
- Develop critical thinking skills in material culture and society.
- Develop lateral thinking by engaging in multi-disciplinary ways.
- To think and work using metaphors, signs and symbols to create diverse interventions and meaning.
- Understanding Art worlds across cultures to position oneself and one’s practice.
- Develop an expansive practice through curating art experiences and exhibitions.
FAQs
Contemporary Art Practice involves creating and exhibiting art that reflects the present day, using mediums that are traditional or new or at the intersection of art, science and humanities. It engages with contemporary social and cultural issues.
Our intention is to expose the student to the field of Contemporary Art. The program seeks to enable students to shape their creative practice as artists. The learning units combine theoretical discourses in art history, material practices and social inquiry so that artistic practice remains responsive to the world around it. This includes working with traditional mediums, like drawing, painting, sculpture, and printmaking, and extends to new media, sound, live contexts and public art. This is facilitated through interactions with artists and practitioners from other disciplines such as visual communication, product design, film, animation, etc. We at SMI encourage an interdisciplinary approach towards the practice of contemporary art.
This course is suitable for individuals who are passionate about creating and exhibiting art that reflects the present day and exploring a range of mediums and styles, engaging with contemporary social and cultural issues, and experimentation, and working in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment.
It is also suitable for those who are interested in the industry of art, like galleries, museums, festivals, biennale, etc.
The capability sets equip and prepare students for a wide range of career opportunities :
- In contemporary art as artists, curators, researchers, and visual storytellers.
- In cultural and creative industries like museums, galleries, art fairs and social organisations.
- In the media industry, like animation, advertising, and film industry as graphic artists, visualisers, creative directors and scenographers.
- In the sphere of education as an artist-teacher and curriculum builder in emerging pedagogies.
- Leading to specialised fields like art history and theory, curation, arts management and art therapy